Motive: Interference

SYNOPSIS

The killer: Cindy Vernon, a popular music teacher at a prestigious music conservatory, and the girlfriend of the conservatory's head, Dean Teller. The victim: Tracy Blaine, the wife of Steven Blaine, who owns his own natural juice company, which is going through problems if only because of a class action lawsuit against it the result of tainted juice which led to the deaths of three people. Tracy's dead body is found in Central Park, her body impaled by a live tree branch. Betty rules that the death could not have been accidental, and that Tracy was pushed onto the branch. The nature of the case takes on some urgency when the detectives learn that Tracy was at the park with her stepson, Owen Blaine, who is now missing. The jogger that found the body is able to confirm Owen's presence at the park and that he willingly left with another woman (who indeed is Cindy). So first and foremost, they have to find out what happened to Owen, before he becomes another statistic in an abducted child killed within the first twenty-four hours. The detectives also learn that Tracy wrote a popular blog, she detailing the goings-on in her life, lately focusing on dealing with Owen's sudden and yet undiagnosed illness, which has resulted in such symptoms as vomiting and seizures, largely without Steven, who has often been out of town dealing with business concerns. The detectives feel that the blog may be the key to finding the abductor/killer, as the blog is an open book to Tracy and Owen's movements. Through the case, Angie and Paula bond over a personal issue through which Paula is going. And Brian learns of some unsettling news concerning the case against Tim Kelly, the person charged with sexually assaulting Betty in the morgue. With this news, Brian tries to help his friend in any way he can.